Guatemala: Remittances growth moderates in February
Remittances from workers abroad grew 2.6% in February from the same month a year earlier, reaching USD 630 million and marking a significant deceleration from January’s 8.0% expansion.
In the 12 months through February, remittances ticked up to a cumulative USD 8.3 billion—an all-time high—from USD 8.2 billion a month earlier. Moreover, cumulative transactions through February represented a 12.7% increase from a year earlier, a slight deceleration from the 13.4% increase recorded in the 12 months through January.
Remittances, an important source of income for Guatemalan households, account for more than a tenth of the country’s GDP, and the vast majority of receipts originate in the United States. As such, remittances are inextricably tied to U.S. employment trends and the broader health of the U.S. economy. Furthermore, the recent surge in remittance inflows has come amid heightened uncertainty over the direction of U.S. immigration policy.